Recipe

Simple mashed sweet potatoes are a nourishing side dish in their own right and a nice alternative to mashed white potatoes. For older kids with developing taste buds as well as adults, the tasty topping makes this side dish even more appealing. Serve this to dress up simple meals of veggie burgers, sandwiches, or wraps. This is also an excellent side dish for bean burgers.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

4 large sweet potatoes

1 tablespoon nonhydrogenated margarine

½ cup low-fat milk, rice milk or soy milk

Pinch of ground nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1½ tablespoons light olive oil

2 large or 3 medium leeks, white part only, chopped and well-rinsed

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger or ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

½ cup chopped toasted walnuts

Directions

1. Bake or microwave the sweet potatoes until tender. When the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and cut into large chunks and place them in a serving bowl.

2. Mash well, then stir in the margarine and milk (heat briefly in the microwave if the potatoes are no longer hot enough to melt the margarine). Add the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.

3. Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the leeks, then cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 7 minutes. Stir in the peas, ginger, and walnuts. Continue to saute just until everything is well heated through. Remove from the heat and transfer to a serving container.

4. Serve the sweet potatoes plain to anyone who wants them that way, and pass the leek mixture as a topping to embellish individual portions.